Read Label Before Purcahsing Food Because You Will Be Shocked To Know What Happens When Corporate Profit Trumps Public Health?

In boardrooms of companies all over India, a chilling trend has started that threatens public health discussions. Large food companies are silencing critics, bullying health activists, and perpetuating a culture of misleading nutrition that is silently eroding the health of millions of Indians. This is more than a story of unhealthy food; it is about companies using intimidation, overwhelming regulation, and manipulating legal systems against people who try to hold them accountable.

The evidence is piling up, and it paints a very grim picture that demands urgent attention by all consumers, parents, and concerned citizens. Big business corporations are not only ignoring public health but are indeed destroying it, using all the resources at their command to continue their hold on India’s food supply chain while the health of the nation is declining at a very rapid pace.

What Is Moving Towards Us Is The Epidemic in Plain Sight!

To comprehend the profound size of this crisis, we must look at the dreadful health statistics that these companies are so eager to conceal. The ICMR-INDIAB report warns that more than 564 million Indians are now overweight or obese, almost half of the country’s population. It is not a figure; it is a staggering public health crisis that has grown for decades as food companies put profits over people.

India’s diet has worsened in a terribly bad manner. Use of Indian edible oils has increased three times in just four years, and the average Indian now consumes roughly 65 grams of oil per day; nearly the American consumption of 75 grams per day. This is more disturbing when we consider the income levels: Americans are making $80,000 per capita, while Indians earn just $2,700. Indians are consuming almost as much toxic oil as Americans but making significantly less money, which is causing severe health and economic issues.

The reasons behind this surplus consumption of oil demonstrate how companies alter food in adverse manners. About 35% of chips have inferior-quality refined oil, 40% of bhujia is oil-based, 25% of biscuits have oil, 40% of ice creams like frozen foods are oil-based, and even 25% of chocolate products have unhealthy oils. These figures are not mistakes; these are outcomes of intentional company strategies that desire to earn more money while spending less, irrespective of the effects on people’s health.

The Legal Notice Machine- The Tool Crony Capitalists Are Using To Silence Critics.

One of the most unsettling things about this corporate war on public health is the way they silence opposition through legal intimidation. A recent example is that of Prashant Desai, a longevity promoter, who was sent a legal notice by India’s biggest biscuit maker after he pointed out that their biscuits have 23% fat. Desai’s discovery of 20 grams of fat in one product contributed by refined palm oil, which has been associated with a variety of health conditions, was not followed by transparency on the part of the company but by legal intimidation.

This is Desai’s fifth legal notice. This indicates how Indian food companies employ intimidation. The message is clear: if you speak about our foods’ toxic substances, we will subject you to expensive and lengthy legal proceedings most cannot afford.

The case of Revant Himatsingka, who is referred to as the “FoodPharmer,” is a classic example of intimidation. When Himatsingka made a viral video revealing that Bournvita has 50 grams of sugar, touted as a healthy drink for children, Mondelez International promptly sent him a legal notice. The company charged him with presenting “unscientific” facts and “distorting facts,” even when his claims were based on the packaging of the product itself.

Himatsingka received 8 legal notices from various food producers. This should trouble anyone concerned about free speech and public health. The trend is the same: health activists post accurate information about products and producers respond with threats of law rather than addressing products. This keeps people quiet about talking about food safety out of fear.

The Palm Oil Deception- One of the major triggers.

The palm oil industry is leading this attack on Indian health. This industry has completely changed the food culture of India in very harmful ways. The popularity of palm oil in Indian processed foods shows how well companies have done in putting profits ahead of people’s health in the last few years.

Palm oil is ubiquitous in Indian packaged food, not because it is good for you, but because it is inexpensive to produce and does not rot on supermarket shelves. Palm oil is solid at room temperature due to very high levels of saturated fats. Palm oil has been linked with increased risk of heart disease, obesity, and other diseases. Food companies have substituted palm oil with normal cooking oils in their products, sometimes without revealing this substitution.

These health effects are very serious. Medical journals have also released studies which illustrate the role of the palm oil industry in the development of non-communicable disease. Different studies have clearly established a link between higher palm oil consumption and higher obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The control of the palm oil industry over the food processing industry is such that people are often consuming hazardous amounts of saturated fats present in food which are often claimed to be healthy foods.

Adding to the aggravation of the situation is the deceptive labeling of palm oil in foods. The majority of companies label their ingredient list as “vegetable oil” or “edible oil” and fail to tell consumers that the oils are mostly palm oil. This, while technically legal, is a deceptive practice that keeps consumers from making informed decisions about what they put in their bodies.

The Regulatory Capture Problem- What Is FSSAI Doing?

The corporate attack on Indian health has been facilitated by a regulative environment that has been progressively undermined by corporate power. Food companies have spent large amounts of money on lobbying, research sponsorship, and regulative capture tactics that have undermined most of the protections that are supposed to ensure public health.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is intended to safeguard food safety but has been accused of being too close to the industries it is intended to regulate. The rules of the authority on labeling are not stringent enough, and companies are concealing dangerous ingredients in ambiguous descriptions and deceptive health claims.

Take “health drinks” for kids. Even though they have more sugar than the daily suggested amount, the drinks are promoted to parents as healthy for their growing children. The laws that are supposed to keep this kind of misleading advertising from occurring are not working because of the influence of big business and their ability to regulate.

The problem is compounded in that the individuals shuttle between the regulatory bodies and food corporations. Ex-regulators tend to find themselves with high-paying positions at the corporations they once regulated, and this induces conflict of interest that contaminates the entire regulatory process. The system ensures that the regulations are developed and enforced in manners that benefit corporate interests and not public health.

The rise in ultra-fast, aka, quick commerce sites and food ordering apps has boosted the intake of processed foods in India significantly. Zepto, Blinkit, Amazon, and Flipkart have made ultra-processed food more accessible than ever. Buy-One-Get-One deals are also leading to people eating more unhealthy food.

The psychological manipulations on these websites are advanced and unnerving. The algorithms are programmed to sell the most profitable products, and these are the most processed and unhealthy items. The instant convenience of delivery takes away the natural limit of buying too much, and sale prices offer spurious reason to buy things people would not otherwise want.

Food ordering apps such as Zomato and Swiggy have made it convenient to have restaurant-quality processed food at a moment’s notice. Indians now spend ₹7 lakh crore annually on food from outside, and half of it is from the unorganized sector in which food safety legislations are never applied at all.

The blend of aggressive advertising, uncomplicated technology, and low costs has led to an enormous boom in overconsumption that is further fueling obesity in India. The most vulnerable sections, working class, poor families, and children, are being targeted by these companies specifically with products that give instant satisfaction but harm health in the long run.

Historical Evidences Shows The Pattern of Corporate Misbehavior in History

Using threats of lawsuits to silence health critics is not new in India’s corporate world. The tobacco industry started all of these tactics years ago, using lawsuits, monopolizing regulations, and false studies to preserve their market share, even with overwhelming evidence of health damage. The food industry has simply adapted the same methods to guard their interests.

Historical examination suggests that businesses tend to prioritize earning quick cash over solving long-term public health problems. The asbestos business continued to market cancer-causing products for decades after they were aware of the health problems. The pharmaceutical business has tended to suppress unfavorable trial data and downplay side effects. The trend is evident: any time health concerns threaten their profits, businesses choose profits over people.

The food industry employs sneaky tactics that target a fundamental human necessity, i.e. sustenance. Not tobacco or alcohol, which are needed in order to survive, but food. And that provides a great deal of leverage for food companies over individuals. That leverage has been abused to prioritize business over public health.

India’s food safety laws are connected to global business strategy. Most of the businesses that are degrading India’s food quality are multinational companies that have been pushed out or heavily controlled in Western economies. These companies, like Nestle, have shifted their focus to developing economies such as India, where the laws are lax and individuals are less informed about food safety.

The products banned or restricted in regions like Europe are being aggressively promoted in India with minimal regulation. That is corporate colonialism in which Indian consumers are treated as lower priority and not provided with the same protection of health as in developed nations.

The palm oil industry is a case in point. European nations have strict regulations on the usage of palm oil and demand open labeling, but the same companies are marketing palm oil products in India which they are not able to sell in their home countries. This is a case of double standards. It shows how the companies are exploiting the situation.

Most disturbing of all, perhaps, is that kids are the target. So-called “children’s health drinks” have more sugar in them than an adult should consume in a day. Breakfast cereals like cornflakes marketed to children are loaded with artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives that have been linked to behavioral issues and long-term illnesses. According to research conducted by Dr Frank Hu of Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, there is a high amount of sugar and salt in cornflakes which can cause high blood pressure and inflammation in the body along with diabetes and fatty liver, and obesity.

Another children’s favourite drink ‘Tang’ has nothing, it’s just coloured sugar powder. 

Employing cartoon figures, toy commercials, and school campaigns to sell to children is a very unrestrained mode of exploiting them by businesses. Children lack the mental capabilities to understand the long-term health effects of foods they eat, and as such they are vulnerable to business exploitation.

The long-term consequences of child marketing are already appearing in the form of childhood diabetes, obesity, and other diseases that were once found only in adults. The children who are being raised on packaged foods are already experiencing health issues at ages that were unimaginable a while back.

The business assault on Indian health needs to be understood also in economic terms. Repairing diet-related illness is a huge cost to India’s health system and to families. The economic exploitation is two-fold: businesses make money by selling unhealthy foods, and then the health system and families have to pay to repair the health damage of those foods.

This economic state creates an unhealthy incentive system in which companies get compensated for creating health issues instead of resolving them. The drug industry profits from increased levels of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and other diet-linked diseases, which renders illness more lucrative than health.

The corporatization of Indian health will not stop without continuous resistance from consumers, activists, and regulatory agencies. The stories of Prashant Desai and Revant Himatsingka demonstrate that lone activists can create change, but they also reflect the necessity of larger changes in the system.

Consumer literacy is the initial protection against corporate manipulation. Indians need to learn how to read food labels, understand what is contained in the ingredients, and be capable of identifying marketing tricks. The success of the “FoodPharmer” movement shows that individuals desire truthful information regarding the quality and safety of food.

Reform of regulatory rules is essential. India needs better labeling rules, clearer health claims rules, and enhanced enforcement of the food safety standards as they are. The connection between the food businesses and the regulatory agencies needs to be severed, and conflicts of interest must be removed from the regulatory process.

Legal reform is required to safeguard health campaigners from intimidation by corporate interests. The current system gives companies the ability to silence their critics through costly lawsuits, even if critics are stating facts. India requires more robust protection of public interest speech and against abuse of legal procedures to intimidate corporations.

At The End: The Choice Before Us

The proof is clear: giant capitalist businesses are continually lowering the standards of Indian food and using threats of litigation to silence critics who expose their tactics. It is not just a business issue; it is a threat to public health, an attack on free speech within democracy, and a challenge to the consumer’s right to make choices regarding what they consume.

The choice we have is not a complex one. We can allow corporations to continue their emphasis on profit at the expense of public health, or we can demand drastic change that prioritizes health and safety. The cost of inaction is not only measured in corporate profit but in lives, childhood development, and the health of America’s future.

Every consumer can resist this corporate grab with smart food choices, backing companies that put health over profit, and calling for honest talk from the food industry. Every citizen can stand with health activists threatened with lawsuits to call out bad company behavior. Every voter can call for new rules that put public health ahead of corporate pressures.

Each day, there are individuals struggling for the health of India in the grocery stores, restaurants, and government buildings throughout the nation. What happens with this battle will determine whether generations of Indians will be healthy and robust or will struggle with health issues as a result of poor diets and corporations profiting from them.

We need to act now. The health of our nation is in our hands if we have the courage to challenge companies that value money more than people. We need to value health more than convenience, integrity more than company confidentiality, and the public interest more than private gain. The future of healthcare in India is in our hands, and we have a choice.